MLAI's Guide to Pitching Your Big Idea

What is a pitch?

In essence, a pitch is a concise and compelling presentation that aims to answer your audience's critical questions:

• What problem are you solving, and why should I care? Be sure to go deep into the problem. Make me, as an investor, or as an audience member, FEEL the problem. Why is it a problem? What impact is it having on the world? What impact could it have on me? How big is this problem? What will happen if it's not solved?
• How are you solving it that makes you stand out? What are you seeing that nobody else has seen yet? What technology or innovation are you applying to this market that hasn't been applied yet? You need to make it clear what the connection is between your approach and the problem.
• What can I do to help? Make it simple. People want to help you, but you have to make it easy for them. "Scan this QR code" or "Sign up to this newsletter" or "Talk to me if you know somebody that is XYZ" are great options.

An effective pitch is akin to a verbal snapshot of your proposal, encapsulating its essence in an engaging manner. The best pitches are persuasive without seeming forceful or desperate. They leverage the presenter's passion and conviction to make a compelling case for their innovation.

Key Elements of a Successful Pitch

A successful pitch captures the audience's attention, clearly outlines the proposal, and concludes with a compelling call to action. The art of pitching is about informing and entertaining – conveying why your solution is the preferable choice for addressing a specific challenge in a way that engages your audience.

Contrary to popular belief, effective pitching is not an inherent skill but a learned one. It involves developing people skills that are similar to storytelling or initiating meaningful conversations. With the right approach and practice, anyone can develop and hone their pitching skills.

In this pitch, note that of the 5-minute duration, most of the time is dedicated to describing and emphasising the problem and outlining the solution. Other sections, like market opportunity, business model, etc., are lumped in at the end, ideally when audience trust and interest have been captured.

Steps for Crafting Your Pitch

Step 1: Identifying and Presenting Your Challenge

First impressions in a pitch can be crucial. Think of the opening moments of your pitch as the critical opportunity to engage your listeners. Rather than a traditional introduction, your opening remarks should immediately draw in your audience with their relevance and urgency.

An effective pitch begins by pinpointing a significant challenge or an unaddressed need.

When identifying your challenge, consider:

• What specific issue does your concept address?
• Who is most affected by this challenge?
• Why is resolving this challenge crucial for your audience?

You have two primary options to introduce this challenge: a direct statement or a narrative.

Option 1: Constructing a Challenge Statement

A straightforward way to commence your pitch is with a brief statement that encapsulates the challenge. This often involves the P-A-S (Problem-Agitate-Solution) framework:

• Problem: Clearly articulate the challenge using language that resonates with your audience. For instance, if addressing medical professionals, use appropriate medical terminology.
• Agitate: Emphasise the severity and implications of the challenge.
• Solution: Introduce your proposed solution, illustrating how it addresses the problem and benefits the field.

As as example, consider you’re proposing a new digital health record system. A P-A-S based pitch might be:

• Problem: “Inefficient health record management often leads to critical delays in patient care.”
• Agitate: “This not only increases the risk for patients but also burdens healthcare workers with unnecessary stress.”
• Solution: “Our new digital health record system makes data management fast, ensuring timely patient care.”

Option 2: Utilising Narrative to Illustrate the Challenge

If a direct statement isn't your preferred approach, consider using a narrative or anecdote. A compelling story can powerfully convey the real-world impact of a challenge and the need for a solution.

When crafting your story, ensure it:

• Highlights the Challenge: Use the narrative to emphasise how your solution addresses a real-world challenge. For example, “As a nurse, I witnessed firsthand the challenges of medication errors due to outdated records, which led me to develop a new patient tracking system.”
• Stays Relevant and Concise: Keep your story focused and directly related to the challenge and your proposed solution. It should be succinct yet impactful, ideally told within two minutes.
• Resonates with the Audience: The story should connect on a personal level, making the issue and its resolution relatable to your audience.

Step 2: Articulating a Compelling Value Proposition

The next critical component of your pitch is to present a clear and persuasive value proposition. This part of your pitch is pivotal; it's where you explain how your offering stands out and the specific benefits it brings. This is often referred to as the Unique Value Proposition (UVP).

A UVP is a concise statement, typically one or two sentences, that clearly outlines what sets your solution apart from others, establishing it as the superior choice in the market.

To craft your UVP, consider the following questions:

• How does your solution add significant value?
• In what ways is it superior to existing alternatives in the industry?
• What specific problems does it alleviate or resolve?
• What benefits will stakeholders, or the institution itself, gain from adopting your solution?

Imagine you’re introducing a new telemedicine platform. The value proposition might be articulated as:

“With our telemedicine platform, we bridge the gap between healthcare accessibility and busy lifestyles, offering patients convenient, high-quality medical consultations from anywhere.”

In your pitch, seamlessly transition from identifying the problem to presenting your UVP. For instance:

“Confronted with the challenge of long waiting times and limited access to specialists, we developed a telemedicine solution that offers quick, reliable, and expert healthcare consultations remotely, redefining patient convenience and care efficiency.”

Step 3: Demonstrating Your Innovation with Effective Visualisation

Once you've identified a problem and proposed a unique solution, the next step is to provide a detailed and visually engaging explanation of your idea. This phase is where the technicalities of your concept come to life, appealing to the visual and practical sensibilities of your audience.

Utilising a Pitch Deck

A pitch deck is a great tool for this stage. It's a series of digital slides crafted to highlight the key aspects of your innovation, leveraging visually appealing design elements to maintain audience engagement. Tools like PowerPoint, Keynote, Canva, or Prezi can be used to create a pitch deck that effectively communicates the complexities and benefits of your idea. Feel free to use the example template provided above in the TLDR section.

You don't need a fully functioning prototype! As long as your demonstration conveys your main idea for what your solution could look like or could do, so that your audience understands the solution in the same way you do, that's enough.

For instance, if you’re introducing a new patient management system, your pitch deck could include slides that showcase the system's interface, data management capabilities, and user testimonials. These slides should be designed to be visually appealing and informative, offering a clear understanding of your system's advantages.

Incorporating Demonstrations

In some cases, a physical or video demonstration is more effective, especially for tangible products or new medical techniques. Demonstrations allow your audience to see the practical application of your idea in a real-world context. For example, if you’ve developed a new medical device, a live demonstration of the device in use or a video showcasing its application can be incredibly persuasive.

Continuing with the patient management system example, a live demonstration could involve a walk-through of the system, showing how it enhances patient care efficiency and data accuracy. If the system includes unique features, such as AI-driven diagnostics or integrated patient portals, these should be highlighted during the demo.

Detailed Explanation in Your Pitch

This stage of your pitch delves into the specifics of your idea. It's crucial to provide a comprehensive yet understandable explanation of how your innovation works and the benefits it offers.

For instance, when discussing the integration of advanced healthcare technologies like telehealth or AI diagnostics, your pitch could include data on improved patient outcomes, efficiency gains, or cost savings. Visual aids like charts, graphs, and infographics can effectively convey this information.

Step 4: Validating Your Idea with Tangible Evidence

It's not enough to simply propose an innovative idea. You must substantiate your concept with concrete evidence and real-world examples. This step is about grounding your pitch in reality, showcasing that your idea or product effectively addresses identified challenges.

Incorporating Concrete Data and Success Stories

To bolster the credibility of your pitch, include the following types of evidence:

• Resource and Financial Data: Present key statistics and financial figures that demonstrate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of your solution. This could include time improvements, cost savings, or efficiency gains.
• Testimonials and Case Studies: Share experiences and endorsements from current users, businesses, or professionals who have benefited from your solution. Real-world examples add a personal touch and enhance credibility.
• Organisational Achievements: Highlight milestones achieved by your organisation, such as awards, certifications, or significant growth metrics.

For conceptual pitches, such as a new policy or strategy, emphasise:

• Scientific research and studies supporting your idea.
• Documented improvements or transformations resulting from the implementation of your strategy.
• Social media engagement or public endorsements, if applicable.

Presenting Evidence Effectively

Although this part of the pitch is data-centric, it's crucial to maintain an engaging and dynamic delivery. Present your data in a way that is both compelling and easy to understand. Use visual aids like charts, graphs, and infographics to convey complex information clearly.

For example, if pitching a new digital health record system, you might present data on how it reduces administrative errors or speeds up patient processing times. Including a few powerful testimonials from healthcare professionals who have used the system can also make a strong impact.

Step 5: Concluding Your Pitch with a Decisive Call to Action

The conclusion of your pitch is as critical as its opening. Due to the serial-position effect, audiences are more likely to remember the start and end of your presentation. Thus, a clear and impactful call to action (CTA) is essential to leave a lasting impression and motivate your audience to act.

Crafting an Effective CTA

Your CTA should encapsulate the essence of your pitch and answer the question: “What should we do next?” This is the moment to direct your audience toward a specific action, aligning with the goals of your organisation, startup, or initiative.

While online CTAs often use direct sales language, a pitch typically requires a more nuanced approach. Consider these methods to elicit an emotional response and encourage action:

• Highlight Impactful Data: Reinforce key statistics or outcomes from your pitch. For instance, “Join our initiative now to be part of a project that has improved patient recovery rates by 40% over the past two years.”
• Use Action-Oriented Language: Clearly state the desired action, using verbs that prompt immediate response, such as “implement, collaborate, fund, or engage.” For example, “Fund this research to pioneer new advancements in cancer treatment.”
• Be Precise: Detail exactly what you want from your audience. For instance, “I propose that the committee approves the deployment of our new telehealth system by next quarter.”
• Incorporate Urgency: Convey a sense of immediacy or time-sensitivity. This might be, “We need to adopt this new surgical technique before the upcoming flu season to ensure better patient outcomes.”

Action Step: Develop a CTA that is both memorable and actionable. It should be the natural culmination of your pitch, driving home the importance of your proposition and outlining the next steps.

For instance, in a pitch for a new health technology, your CTA might be, “I urge our leadership team to approve the trial phase of this technology within the next month, so we can begin improving patient care as soon as possible.”